The Toughest Leadership Question I’ve Ever Been Asked

We were told many times in our pilot training and safety meetings that there were several dead military pilots because they simply waited too long to bail out. They kept trying to save the ship when the ship was past saving. This brings up the toughest question I’ve even been asked in the video below:

“Are we going to have to bail out?”

As difficult as it may be, as a military pilot you have to determine a point at which you will bail out. Then if you ever reach that point, pull the trigger and bailout. This will allow you to survive and fly another day.

I liken this analogy to the salesperson who isn’t willing to turn down sales opportunities that aren’t profitable. In basic sales training we are taught the best two answers to the question, “Will you buy my solution?” are “yes” and “no.” But “maybe” will kill you.

As a sales manager, I watched the forecasts of the salespeople who were lagging in their sales. They would typically forecast the same customers for three or more months without those customers buying their solutions. The top salespeople would target the same customers for at most two months before moving on. If customers didn’t buy in those two months, the top salespeople would focus their efforts on someone else. This increased their productivity, sales, revenue, and most of all – commissions. The lower ranking salespeople spent entirely too much time with the maybe. They did not understand and/or were unwilling to get rid of the customers that were not profitable.

As a salesperson, know when to bail out and then DO IT. It will make you more money – period.

About Kevin Sweeney

Lt. Colonel Kevin Sweeney is the only pilot to have landed a plane with both engines blown off the left wing during a night combat mission in Desert Storm. Follow Kevin on twitter @TheLtColonel or book Kevin to speak at your event by contacting our office.